“Shit!” shouts Waland.
A German soldier jumps out of the crater. My blood thirst kicks in. Kill. I go forward thrusting my blood stained army knife into his head he staggers he falls, he crashes down into the hardened ground, leaves fly up from where his body flew into the ground. Blood trickles down his sorrow face. An awful thing to happen yet it has to be done for my survival. I slide my knife out from the centre of his head, blood cascades downwards. We now move the German from the crater his bloody carcass in our hands . We clamber into the crater for some protection from the harsh environment around us. We now wait. A sip of the scarce water I take before we are off. Continuing forward, our heartbeats rise with every pounding step. To my left there seems to be a dead oak forest killed off by the gunfire, and destructive chemicals, we begin to run towards this for cover. Suddenly bullets being fired from all directions head towards us. An ambush! We drop to the drenched mud. Felix, Alfred and I start firing out into the forest whilst Waland sets up his machine gun, we cover him with our fire. Cries of pain shriek from the forest. Must of hit. The bullets continue to spray from the forest. A single bullet, from the Germans, pieces the flesh of my arm; the bullet burrows itself into my arm like a worm.
“Machine gun ready for use!”
Felix crawls in the shallow swamp to him and hands him a magazine. I feel the spray of machine gun bullets fire past my ear and I hear them smashing into the ground behind me. More cries. The rate of fire towards us begins to slow. Subsequently the fire from the forest ceases, I look up to my team, sweat and blood covers our faces, and everyone looks fine. We pack the machine gun away.
I lead the way through the dead forest, I stab some twitching German bodies with the bayonet, blood trickles form the bodies, and we wander a little in and wait. Felix and Waland , after finishing packing away the machine-gun the, join us
“Oh god!” cries Alfred.
Six Germans jump up from the mossy undergrowth .An ambush. They smash their guns round our heads wasting no bullets on us; I see darkness; I feel nothing; I hear nothing. I feel dead.
* * * *
I wake onto a stone cold bed of hay with a perforating headache the headache feels like swords stabbing through my skull. I open my eyes everything is blurry. I lay still trying to focus on where I am.
My vision is starting to come into focus. I try to sit up. I can see that ropes tie me down. I can turn my head; I turn towards who I believe is Felix, he still out cold but his face is cleaner then before. I shiver, a gust of cold air hits me, I look up, and a figure now wanders towards me like he is lost in deep thought. Looks as if he is walking on his side. A bright light shines to my face, blinding me. I can hear a voice but I can’t make it out, it sounds German. This light gets closer and brighter, he says something I cannot answer because my lips are as frozen as the north and south poles, he repeats what he said before but I still cant make it out. He leans over me, Blood pulses through me again. I could be killed. We seem to be in a frosty tent. It seems yet another figure wanders into the tent. This other man starts to speak to the first German. I understand none of it my heart continuing to pound like a drum, sweat drips down my face. The first German points a finger at me indicating whom to go to first. My heart beats harder, faster. He speaks.
“You…eintruders…oof ..Gurman..larnd”
I try to speak but my mouth is cold from the frozen weather conditions. I get slapped. The pain rivets around my face, the left cheek pulsates recovering from the blow.
“Yes” the slurred words seep from my frozen mouth.
He turns around and talks to the other German, I can see them leaving. Darkness surrounds us again. I hear a shuffle. I think that someone is waking. “Felix is that you?” I whisper towards the direction that I believe him to be.
“Yeth” his mouth seems to be frozen to the limits.
I seem to be able to wriggle a little. I do so.
This is taking to long to loosen the rope, which constricts me down. I stretch to my knife. I can only just feel my fingers grasping round the handle. I slowly pull the knife, with all my effort, towards me. I kink my hand and start to hack away at the rope.
“Yes” I cry quietly to myself.
The rope gives way I can use my newly freed hand to get out from the constricting binds. I do so. I am free, I roll off the bed and attempt to get up; I stumble. My legs still numb from the weather. I hobble towards Felix I begin to hack at his ropes. The time slowly passes I feel the ropes lose tension and, the robe whips back like a snake, I cut him free. I pass him my blood stained army knife to Felix to free the others. I turn to the tent entrance, I open it a little to see outside. My eyesight adjusts I see a German readying his gun but not looking my way. I signal the others to come over free by this time Felix freed the others. Waland sticks his head out.
“Waland no!” I cry to him.
Bang! A precision sniper shot fires into Waland’s chest, he is flung backwards gyrating through the air, he hits the solid frozen ground with a large thud. Thus crushing his body. He appeared to be crumpled.
“Dam, leave him. There’s no way he is going to make it out here, they know we are awake and free we need to ready ourselves to defend”. I have whispered this to the others.
We brace. A German erupts in. I crack him in the face with my foot he falls. I see Felix grab the gun. I run out, dive for cover, mud crawls up my frostbitten face whilst I move swiftly along the ground. Felix shoots a guard, I clamber towards the shot German. I search him. He stinks. I take the gun and chuck it to Alfred. Now Felix and Alfred are armed. They run forward, I see Alfred running he is first through the tent entrance, a shot is fired I see the bullet rip through the flesh of his neck. I begin to feel foolish for not going first, blood pours form his neck He chokes from it, he slowly drowns in his own blood, and it is to late to save him though. An awful sight, Felix runs towards him.
“No Felix!” A bullet pieces the flesh of his arm, another his chest, then another to his head his body jolts with each shot fired. Felix falls. Dead, I feel the weight of death land onto my shoulders like being crushed by a train. It’s my fault, my entire fault. I’ve lost best friends, my family, and my respect from my country. I shudder I can only believe this is the truth. Nothing left for it, if I go out from where I am, I am dead, and if I stay I will die of hunger or of hypothermia. I don’t want a slow death out here. I shall grab my knife and do the only thing right. Suicide is the best option, I place the knife into position in my mouth. Thinking of my life, my childhood, my children and wife and friends all this for nothing I tried to protect my country I have failed my country and myself. Nothing left to fight for; I wouldn’t get far through the German trenches. I hold the knife with two hands, with all my remaining might I force the knife through my mouth and skull. The tent begins to spin; my vision once again becomes blurry. It is over. Maybe what I have done is right, maybe it isn’t. But it is to late now. My worse fear was struck hard, Death. I hope that I am remembered not forgotten.
